Fabric folding and piling mechanism.



J. A; BUTLER & L. FLIGK. FABRIC FOLDING AND FILING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 6, 1909.

Patented Oct. 19,1909.

knw. 14W

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES A. BUTLER, F WINTI-IROP, MASSACHUSETTS, AND LORENZ FLICK, OF SAYLES- VILLE, RHODE ISLAND.

FABRIC FOLDING AND PILING MECHANISM.

Application filed February 6, 1909.

fabric or other flexible material in folds.

and for combining a series of such folds to form a pile of said fabric or material.

The object of the invention is to so construct a folding and piling machine of this nature that the fabric may be regularly folded in series of laps forming peculiarly arranged layers which are not liable to entanglement whereby the fabric, so piled, can be readily drawn from said pile.

Another object of the invention is to so construct a machine of this nature that said machine may be adjusted to change the direction in which the laps or folds of fabric are to be laid.

Another object of the invention is to improve the construction of machines of this nature.

The invention consists in such peculiar features of construction and combination of parts as shall hereinafter be more fully described and pointed out in the claims.

Figure 1, represents a plan view of the improved folding and piling machine, parts being broken away. Fig. 2, represents a side elevation of the same, portions of the supporting standards being broken away, the fabric being shown as delivered to the machine by one of the well known fabric carrying pulleys usually employed in bleacheries for carrying forward the fabric, in rope form, from one process to another. Fig. 3, represents a sectional view taken on line 33 Fig. 1, some of the parts being omitted. Fig. 4, represents a detail view of parts of the folder actuating mechanism taken from the right of Fig. 2, with a partial sectional View of the connecting rod taken on line 44 Fig. 2.

Similar characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout.

Mechanisms of this general nature are de- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 19, 1909.

Serial No. 476,581.

signed particularly to receive textile fabric, fed forward to the machine in rope form, and to progressively arrange said fabric in regular folds 01: reaches whereby layers of said folds ultimately form a pile of fabric adapted to be subjected to chemical treatment or adapted to be transported in such piled form to another point for treatment;

the regular piling of the fabric preventing entanglement of its folds and permitting the drawing off of said fabric lengthwise from said pile.

As shown in the drawings in its preferred form 5, 5, designates supports or standards on which the movable parts of the mechanism are supported. These standards 5, 5, may represent portions of the framework of a bleaching keir or dye vat, into which it is desired to pile the fabric, or said standards may represent portions of an open frame into which a suitable car or truck can be positioned to receive the pile of fabric. Mounted'on said standards 5, 5, is the annular frame 6 having or provided with the flanges 7 and 8, of which, flange 8 carries the annular rack 9. Rotatably mounted on the annular frame 6 and supported by the flange 7 is the circular carrying member 10 having the peripheral rack 11 which is driven by the pinion 12 having its shaft 13 journaled in the bearings 14 and having the pinion 15 adapted to be driven by any well known means.

Secured to the carrying member 10 is the bracket 16 having the upwardly extending arms 17, 17, meeting in the vertical bearing sleeve 18, and the cross arm 19. Journaled in a vertical bearing of bracket 16 is the shaft 20 having the pinion 21, meshing with rack 9, and the bevel gear 22 which drives the bevel pinion 23 of shaft 24 journaled in a horizontal bearing in the cross arm 19 and having the crank arm 25. Pivotally connected with the crank arm 25 is the swivel joint 26 of the tubular connecting rod 27 in which the shank 28 of the upper swivel joint 29 is received, and is secured by set screw 30. Pivotally connected with the joint member 31 is the arm 32 which is mounted on the shaft 33, journaled in the bearing 34 of the stud 35, and having or provided at its end with the trough or funnel 36 preferably rectangular in cross section. The stud is rotatably mounted, for adjustment, in the bearing sleeve 18 and V is secured in the adjusted position by the nuts 37 and 38.

Mounted on the carrying member 10 is a frame comprising the upwardly extending arms 39, '39; which support the guide chute 40.

The operation of the machine will be readily understood by reference to the drawings. If it is understood that shaft 33 extends radially with respect to the axis of member 6, as shown in Fig. 1, and motion is imparted to the mechanism through pinion 12 then the rotation of the carrying member 10 will be effected by said pinion 12 meshing with rack 11, the speed of said carrying member 10 depending upon the relation in diameter by said pinion and said rack. During the rotative movement of member 10 bracket 16 and the parts carried thereby will travel ina circular path around the rack9 and, as said rack is stationary, the

pinion 21, by engagement with said rack,'

will be caused to rotate whereby gears 22 and 23 are driven to effect the rotation of shaft 24: thus, through arm 25, and connecting rod'27, causing arm 32 to rock shaft 33 and vibrate the trough or funnel 36. in a direction at right angles to the extension of shaft 33. If now fabric a, a, is delivered to chute 1-0 such vibration of the funnel 96 will cause the said fabric to be laid in laps across the chord of the circle represented by members 6 while the direction in which said laps are laid will change constantly with the movement of the shaft 33 around the axis of the circular member 6, approxi mately as indicated in dotted lines a, a, in Fig. 1 the relative direction of said laps a, a, depending largely upon the relative diameters of the pinions 12, 21, 22 and 23 and of the racks 9 and 11. It being generally preferred to vibrate the funnel 36 quite rapidly while the bracket 16 and the mechanism carried. thereby moves slowly around the rack 9.

swinging the sleeve 34 on its stud 35 to the desired degree whereby the shaft 33 is swung to an angle with the radius of the circle indicated by the member 6, While themembers 27 and 28 of the connecting rod may be adjusted as to length and the swivel joints 29, 29 will accommodatethemselves to such adjustment. 7

By the use of this piling mechanism the fabric is arranged in the series of cross laps above referred to and said lapsultimately form spiral layers which are given a certain stability by the arrangement of their laps a, a, Without dangerof the entanglement of said laps so that the fabric may thereafter be drawn. from the pile formed of said layers.

Having thus described our invention we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent. r

1. A fabric piling machine comprising means for delivering fabric'inlaps and op-' erating means for said delivery means mounted to traverse around the pile of fabric formed by said laps.

2. The combination with a fixed annular rack, a member movably mounted with respect to said rack, a support mounted on said movable member, a vibratory fabric feeding device carried by said support and means for drlvmg said movable member, of

driving means for said vibratory means in ing said member, a bracket mounted 011 S2LlCl- H member, a shaft journaled in said bracket and having a pinion meshing with said annular rack, a vibratory fabric delivering device having a shaft rotatably supported by said bracket, and connections between said pinion andv the shaft of said vibratory de vice as and for the purpose described.

JAMES A. BUTLER. LORENZ FLICK. l/Vitnesses:

HAROLD WHALLEY, M. OLIVIA WVEBs'rER. 

